Our Stuff and Our Violence

October 6, 2017

Thanks, Jake! Made me think of this question for reflection—You Shall Not Kill versus You Shall Not Steal… in this blog, your neighbors are threatening both… killing is stealing a life… food for reflection…

For the first time in our lives together, my wife Joy and I live in a rural setting. Kincaid Lake and the Kisatchie National Forest flank us on either side.

Crime poses less a threat here than some of the wildlife. Signs posted at the nearby trailheads offer strategies for confrontations with wild boar. Alligators have eaten a few of our neighbors’ pets. And we have survived a home invasion by a snake.

Prior to moving to Alexandria, Louisiana, we had chosen homes in town or in older, close-in suburbs. We grew accustomed to setting alarms and taking precautions against smash-and-grab thefts. Locking our cars was second nature.

One of our old neighborhoods maintains a Facebook group. Mostly they share news about social goings on. But from time to time someone in the group reports a burglary.

Usually these are crimes of opportunity. An iPhone is left in an unlocked…